


Aftersong

by Tuxedo_Elf



Category: Young Wizards - Diane Duane
Genre: Community: comment_fic, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-12-20
Updated: 2014-12-20
Packaged: 2018-03-02 12:56:30
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 905
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2812784
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Tuxedo_Elf/pseuds/Tuxedo_Elf
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Written for the prompt: Nita completed the Song of the Twelve. </p><p>She completed the song. That doesn't make it any easier for Kit.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Aftersong

**Author's Note:**

> I can hardly remember a time when I *didn't* love these books. And yet, this is my first fic for them!

Aftersong

********

The spell hummed around him, the gentle buzz of a low-impact wizardry. It was just a broken phone, not an important spell, not in the grand scheme of things. It didn't really need to be done, his Dad was due a new one soon anyway. He just hated the waste. And besides, it was better than... thinking. Dwelling. Remembering. 

He didn't jump when the phone twitched slightly, seeming to sense a spell approaching. Sure enough, a moment later there was a clap of air and Carl appeared in his room. That in itself was slightly unusual, generally people – wizards – went to Carl, not the other way around. 

“Hey, Carl.” He didn't turn around. It still hurt too much.

“Kit.” The older wizard stepped over to the desk where Kit was working. “Kit, we need to talk.” One look at the boy told Carl that even attempting to make small talk would not be wise. _Go easy on him,_ he told himself. _He just lost his best friend._

There was a gentle thud as the spell on the phone was broken and the device lay flat on the desk, half as broken as it was before. “I don't want to,” he said stubbornly, still staring at the phone and reminding Carl that he was only twelve. 

Carl sighed, rubbing the bridge of his nose. “I know, Kit. I do. But you **need** to talk. I... we're worried about you. All of us. It's been weeks...”

“I know!” Kit jumped up, glaring at Carl. “I know how long it's been... every minute it just hurts more!” He couldn't forget, not even for a second. Nita, in whale form, cut and bleeding, swimming towards Ed, knowing, even accepting, what she was doing. Every time he tried to sleep, he heard the pained whale-cry as sharp teeth sank into her and her final words as she made the sacrifice. He turned away from Carl, furiously wiping away the tears that threatened to spill over and tensing when he felt Carl's hand on his shoulder. 

“She went willingly, in the end.” It wasn't a question. The power that a willing sacrifice had given the Song was felt by them all. “That should bring you some comfort.” Kit had been right there, had witnessed her power at the last. 

Kit tried to pull away from Carl's hand, but couldn't bring himself to do so. “It doesn't. She's still... dead. Still gone. It doesn't make me miss her any less.” And he missed her so much. She'd been his first friend, the first person to like him, accept him, for who he was. And then she'd been his partner, facing the dangers that being a wizard entailed right beside him. 

Carl's squeezed Kit's shoulder lightly. “Then... why haven't you been to see her?”

He closed his eyes. “I went to the funeral.” 

“That's not what I mean, Kit, you know that. Before... before the song, we talked. And I told her, there's always Timeheart.” He hesitated. These talks were never easy, especially amongst the younger wizards. “I've been, Kit. I've seen her. And I assure you – she misses you every bit as much as you miss her.” 

They both knew that Timeheart couldn't make things as they had been before. She couldn't leave that place and as Kit grew, he would have less and less time to go there. Yet, it was more than non-wizards had. It was one of very few true perks that came from their wizardry. 

“I can't,” he replied and his voice cracked. “I can't go. Because if I go I... I don't think I'll be able to leave.” He turned, watery eyes looking up at the senior wizard. 

Carl only paused for a moment before embracing Kit. He remembered talking to a terrified Nita before the Song, trying to keep her calm while his heart was quietly breaking. “Yes you will, Kit. I know you will, because you're a wizard and you do what's right. As Nita did.” 

Kit made a choking sound and pulled away from Carl. “Please.. go... please...” He couldn't bear the thought of breaking down in front of a wizard he respected so much. 

“Okay,” Carl agreed reluctantly. “But you know where we are...” He broke off as Kit nodded and spoke the spell to take him home again, the air closing around him as he left. 

Once Carl had gone, Kit sat down on the bed, thinking and remembering. To his left, Nita's manual sat on his bedside table. He wasn't sure why he had it, he had his own. But he was glad he did. Picking it up, he ran his hand over the worn leather before opening it right in the middle. 

The spell that stared back at him was one he knew already. It had been on the tip of his tongue for weeks, unspoken. Now it mingled painfully with Carl's words. _She misses you every bit as much as you miss her._

There were no chances. That spell could have been anywhere in the book and he'd have opened it there. That was the way it worked. Wizardry was not always very subtle, or rather, it refused to be sometimes. 

He managed the barest hint of a smile as he rested his hand on the page. Message received. “Okay. Okay, Neets. I'm coming.” He wiped his eyes again, took a deep breath, and spoke the spell. 

END


End file.
